Trent’s Board of Governors received reports and updates on a wide array of topics as they met for the final time of the 2022/23 session on June 23rd. Significant reports, including those on Sexual Violence at Trent and the implementation of the Trent Lands and Nature Areas plan (TLNAP) were accepted by the Board on consent, meaning there was no opportunity in open session for them to be discussed by Governors.

The report on Sexual Violence, which follows a provincially mandated form, suggests that there were 27 formal complains of sexual violence which were handled through the Sexual Violence Policy during the 2022/23 academic year. However, these figures do not include instances reported to the Sexual Violence Prevention and Peer Support Manager, Housing Services, the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre and the Durham Rape Crisis Centre, which do not involve a policy-related report. 

These numbers suggest that Trent is intentionally underreporting and obfuscating the severity and number of instances of sexual violence on its campuses. In 2019, for instance, the report suggests that there were only two “incidents and complaints” of sexual violence—a staggeringly low and unrealistic number on its face. 

The number of student accessing individual support services provided by the Sexual Violence Prevention Coordinator has increased each year since 2019, with a dip in the number in the 2020/21 school year, presumably due to COVID-19. According to the report’s introduction, 96 students were directly supported in the 2022/23 academic year while 5,100 students were contacted through sexual violence programming.

The Trent Lands and Nature Plans Implementation Report, which again was not up for discussion by the Board, outlines the university’s commitment to maintaining 60% of its lands and “Nature Areas and green spaces” while also outlining its commitment to “continue collaboration with the Michi Saagiig Anishnaabeg on whose treaty and traditional lands Trent is located.”

Included is an update on the Cleantech Commons plan, which will include a multi-tenant building, and will be home to the Trent Enterprise Centre (TEC), which is partially funded by a FedDev grant from 2020 to the tune of $4.8M. The report also mentioned a number of memorandums and understandings with unnamed companies from whom the university is now attempting to secure letters of intent.

Trent continues to meet with Peterborough Kawartha Economic Development (PKED) and the City monthly in order to move the project along. As Arthur has previously reported, the City of Peterborough has invested $6M into the preparation of land and roads and water service to the property on Pioneer Road. 

Peterborough’s ongoing need for employment lands and lack of commercial tax base means that pressure from City Councillors, who are well acquainted with the issues of attracting business to Peterborough, is a major consideration for the Board. 

Also passed on consent was the Strategic Research Plan for 2023-28. The six-point plan “incorporates the University’s signature focus on healthy and sustainable environments and communities” which are “grounded in a commitment to [Trent’s] interconnected research ecosystem.”

Unsurprisingly, aspects of the Lands and Nature Areas Plan and Cleantech Commons crop up within the report, specifically the as-of-yet non-existent Senior’s Village and Cleantech Building, suggesting that each will lead to “transformative spaces.” Other, tangible and existing spaces mentioned and pictured in the report include the library, the new Traill College Amphitheatre and “field sites that demand local and global exploration,” possibly including the field where Cleantech is supposed to be.

Significantly, the Board did briefly discuss and ultimately approve a report which outlined how the university would spend its nearly $13M in excess revenue fromthe past year.

The report allows for $4.6M in capital projects which will go towards new parking, the demolition of Otonabee, and the expansion of the Durham Campus, and could include paying for studies, land acquisition, and architecture. An additional $575,000 is to be set aside for Traill Capital Developments, which could include purchasing property, renovating current buildings, and expanding office and class space.

An additional $250,000 was set aside for an “Indigenous Sculpture for the new college on Symons Campus” in keeping with the Champlain Report and $1.8M for support for teaching and research, which includes investments in the Trent Farm and Greenhouses around campus. 

The Board also received an update on the progress of the Anti-Racism Task Force and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives currently underway at the university. 

VP Human Resources, Stephanie Williams, presented the update which included a breakdown of the various faculty and staff positions which had been earmarked for BIPOC individuals. Coming out of a joint committee report and collective bargaining with the Trent University Faculty Association (TUFA) the two parties agreed that there would be 5 EDI designated faculty positions to be posted at the associate or full level and that there would be increased representation on hiring committees. 

In total, six departments across the university have posted for positions which indicate a “preference for a racialized candidate” including English, Indigenous Studies, Philosophy, Sociology, Nursing, and Environmental Science.

EDI initiatives within Student Services and Colleges have also been expanded and include more leaders being hired for peer support programs and collaboration with student groups to plan for initiatives for Black History Month and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

Additionally, a therapist with a specialty in supporting Racialized Students was hired in the Fall of 2022. The report also outlined the fact that “BIPOC accounts for 20% of the uniformed security staff,” and roughly 80% of the Walkhome team are BIPOC.